Gaybutton

I wonder who ratted on him. I believe he really was docked and that it isn't just a ploy to try to get "sympathy money" from you. I've heard stories like this far more than just once.

I never thought of Soi Buakao as a place to look for good restaurants, but last night I found out that I had been missing out all this time. A friend told me about Le' Kitchen and I, along with two friends, gave it a try. All three of us really enjoyed it. It's an open air restaurant, but no smoking is allowed. There is a chair and table set up outside for smokers. Le' Kitchen is a buffet. The staff is excellent and the food is very good. They've got everything there, both Thai and farang food. They have a small salad bar, three soup choices (last night is was cream of chicken, goulash soup, and a Thai chicken-coconut soup). There are several bread choices, ranging from French bread to croissants. The buffet selections last night included several chicken, pork and beef choices, all of which we thought were really good. They also have both steamed and fried rice. That's not all. They also have a kebob grill, with cooks. You get your choice of chicken, beef, and pork kebobs. They also have large shrimp (prawns) that they grill for you. Don't forget dessert. Danish pastry and ice cream is included in the buffet price. You have to ask for the ice cream and the choices are vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. I'm still not finished. They have a coffee machine that dispenses good quality coffee of your choice . . . regular coffee, expresso, capucino, etc. If you prefer tea, they also have a pot of hot tea. How much for all this? Would you believe 229 baht? If you order bottled water, now the bill becomes 245 baht. Getting there is easy. Baht buses run constantly on Soi Buakao. The restaurant is located as part of, and adjacent to the Royal Suite Hotel. You can't miss it. If you're coming from South Pattaya Road (Pattaya Tai), take the baht bus down Soi Buakao almost to where it ends at Central Road (Pattaya Klang). You'll spot the Royal Suite Hotel on the right. You'll see they have their plants outside all decorated with small, orange-ish light bulbs, almost like Christmas lights. If that is too vague for you, no problem. There is a location map on their web site at: http://www.lkpattayahotel.com/royal_suite/location.htm I have also attached their business card to this message. Give it a try! As I said, all three of us really enjoyed it and we can't figure out how they can possibly do it at that price, but there it is. We're going to make Le' Kitchen one of our regular eateries from now on. After you try it, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you do the same thing. Le' Kitchen is also open for both breakfast and lunch. Sooner or later I'll get around to trying their breakfast, but I'm not much of a breakfast eater. Perhaps someone else will beat me to it and will be kind enough to post about it.

That's Udon Thani. Thai Airways also flies there for a lot less than flying directly into Laos. The following is an excerpt from a article I had on my old web site about a trip to Laos. Bear in mind that this article was written nearly ten years ago, and I haven't been back to Laos since, so I can't guarantee that there haven't been changes. But I would hazard a guess that any changes, other than prices, since then would be minor: __________ As soon as we exited the luggage retrieval area at the Udon Thani airport, just to the right we saw signs for a bus that leaves right from the airport to Nong Khai. The price of a ticket for the bus was 100 baht per person, and the trip takes about ninety minutes. We bought the tickets, boarded the bus, and the bus left immediately. Ninety minutes later, the bus stopped at Nong Khai, the border town. If you are traveling with a Thai citizen, he can enter Laos even without a passport. All he needs is his national identity card. There is a small, easy-to-find office right there at the bus terminal at which the Thai citizen pays a 200 baht fee, fills out some paper work, and is granted an exit permit. Once we finished the twenty-minute process, we boarded another bus that takes us across the border. The bus makes a stop just before crossing the Mekong River. At that point, you go through a line at which the Thai customs officials take your departure card out of your passport, and they rubber stamp in your exit. Then, you re-board the bus and cross the river. If you happen to miss the bus, you can take the next one, which will come along in about ten minutes. Make sure you take your luggage off the bus you were riding just in case you miss it. Once you cross the Mekong River, now you are in Laotian territory. The bus stops at the Laotian customs offices. The first thing you have to do, assuming you don’t already have an entry visa for Laos, is to go to the window, which is clearly marked in English, that is the visa-on-entry window. The fee for foreigners, other than Thai foreigners, is US $30, which is payable in either U.S. dollars or Thai baht. You will first receive some documents to fill out. Then you submit the documents, along with your passport and fee. A few minutes later, you will receive back your passport, which will now have the Laotian entry visa. You will also receive an entry-departure card, not very different from the one you received in Thailand. Then there is a second series of lines. One is for Thai citizens entering Laos. One is for Laotian citizens returning to Laos. The third is for all other foreign nationals. You present your passport and entry-departure card there. A few more rubber stamps are entered, and now you pass through. At that point, there will be a table where customs officials will inspect your luggage, if they so choose. Most people, however, are merely waved on through without anybody bothering to inspect your luggage unless you somehow appear suspicious to them. Now, you have to pay an additional 10 baht entry fee, and receive a receipt for it. I have no idea why they don’t simply include that in the visa fee, but that’s the way they do things. Now you have to pass through one final line, at which the receipt for the 10 baht is taken, the entry portion of the entry-departure card is taken, the visa is inspected, and the departure card is stapled to the inside of your passport. Welcome to Laos. The whole process took about a half hour.

Probably a couple more weeks. It will certainly be over by the time Songkran begins.

So do I. This evening I was in a bar and personally witnessed a 'farang,' who was already sitting with a boy and publicly fondling him, call another boy over. He had the boy stand right in front of him, in full view of everyone, and he pulled down the boy's underwear and started sucking him. The boy obviously didn't know how to respond and was as embarrassed as he could be, although several other boys were sitting around publicly masturbating. That's not the kind of bar I enjoy, and I was out of there as soon as I saw that going on. I almost wish I stayed a bit longer to see if the 'farang' at least tipped the boy and how much, but I didn't.

That's because it's all about money. I am not a fan of mama-sans, that's for sure, and to tell the truth I don't see why bars employ them at all. I can understand a manager, someone in a supervisory position, but this mama-san business can be quite corrupt. Some mama-sans are the nicest people you would ever want to meet and really do try their best to take good care of their boys. Others are in control and the bar owners let them get away with it. It is often the mama-sans who make the actual determination as to how much each boy is paid each month or which boys are 'pushed' on 'farang.' The reason some boys don't get a 'life of their own' is because any time they are with a 'farang,' the assumption is the boy is being paid and the mama-san is supposed to get his/her cut. So, even on a 'free day,' a boy can get in trouble with his mama-san if he's working in the wrong bar. The boy is with a 'farang,' and the mama-san isn't getting a cut, even if no money exchanges hands. That's why some of these boys get into trouble. The mama-san will fire the boy and deprive him of his monthly salary. There's nothing the boy can do about it. Three guesses who ends up pocketing the salary the boy was entitled to. In other words, even though all you might be doing is taking the boy out to dinner on his 'free day,' he can still end up in trouble if he didn't first go to the mama-san, get permission to go, and pay the mama-san his/her cut. Welcome to Thailand . . . .

Not quite the case. George, the German former owner of Happy Bar, has taken over and opened the bar under the name "Ligun." He is also going to take over the location of the former Jungle Boys bar and will change the name to "ligun 1." The present "Ligun" bar will become "Ligun 2." They will be two separate go-go bars. The bar currently open as "Ligun" is already operating. Several of the go-go dancers are clad in the attire from Jungle Boys. Drinks are 100 baht. I asked George what "ligun" means. He says it literally means "up to you." He also says he is in the process of recruiting "new" boys, all of whom will come from various areas in Issan.

Based on your post, I'd say no, we weren't in the same bar. I suppose people see things the way they decide to see them. I don't agree with your assessment at all.

A go-go boy is what you have been seeing in the bars for years . . . boys in underwear, sometimes dancing, sometimes doing nothing more than the "one-knee shuffle." Basically, a go-go boy is putting himself on display and that's about it. A coyote dancer is an altogether different thing, far more specialized than the average go-go dancer. Coyote dancers appear in, shall we say, provocative attire and dance with intentionally sexually explicit moves. Often their moves are choreographed. Personally, I prefer it when there is no choreography and their dancing is much more spontaneous and, for lack of a better term, ad libbed.

Yes. Right down the street from Lux'or, directly across from the entrance to Tuk Com, is Cuisine au Buerre. I think the food is very good there at excellent prices.

I certainly do. There is plenty to complain about in Pattaya, as in most cities throughout the world, but the things I love about Pattaya and Thailand vastly outweigh the complaints, in my opinion. My life is not exactly trouble free. Like anyone else, I have my share of problems too, but when something is really getting to me I am always able to step back and remind myself that at least I'm here having the problem.

Now there's an ego-satisfying new term! I never thought about it like that and you're probably over estimating my influence, but yes, The Birdcage definitely gets my seal of approval and you're right; I don't often review bars. Have a great time there tonight. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I can't speak for Hedda, but my own opinion is that I can think of a great many ways our tax dollars could be better spent, if the article has its information correct. Is it now the policy of the US government to send agents out to spy upon and police its citizens in foreign countries? That sounds like whoever came up with that idea received his training from the KGB and the Gestapo. I can understand foreign police agencies cooperating with the Thai police, but I would have a problem accepting the idea that some sort of secret police group is being formed in a foreign country to spy on its own people, and in the process circumvent the Thai police, as something justifiable. They must be under the impression that crimes being committed by US citizens are so rampant in Pattaya that now spies should be put in place.

You can count on it. I thought it was an absolutely fascinating experience. I'm only sorry I didn't have more time there. Even if exploring Chinatown is the only thing you're going to do in Bangkok, in my opinion that alone would justify the trip.

I am rarely impressed with a new bar and anyone who knows me will tell you that I dislike bar shows. Tonight that all changed. Tonight I visited The Birdcage for the first time since their opening a week ago. ( see http://www.birdcagepattaya.com ). I arrived about 10:00 PM and had a chat with Mark (aka Marsha). The bar is smoke free. There are plenty of signs, both inside and outside to let people know that smoking is verboten inside. There are smoking areas outside for those who wish to smoke. I really like the way the bar is set up. The elevated stage is where the go-go boys perform. I knew I was going to like this bar the moment I saw that the boys were actually dancing and enjoying themselves. There was none of the "one-knee shuffle" going on, with boys looking like they're bored out of their minds. These boys really dance and some are quite talented. Directly in front of the stage, in close proximity to the audience, but not in-your-face, are the coyote dancers. There are also four "birdcages," each housing a coyote dancer. They switch positions regularly, so you don't end up staring at the same face and body all night (although there were several I could easily stare at all night, all day, and then some!). The "cages" are cleverly positioned so that no matter where you are seated in the bar, you're going to get an excellent view of the boys dancing in the "birdcages," along with an excellent view of the go-go boys. By 11:00 PM the first of the two nightly shows began. There's another show at 12:15 AM. Now, usually when it's show time in a bar that's invariably the cue for me to pay my bill and leave. I stayed, however, for this show. I'm glad I did. I can honestly say this was the first bar show in all the years and all the shows I've seen in the Thailand bars that I really enjoyed. My congratulations to Mark. He has put together a highly amusing show, quite unique. So many of the bar shows are essentially clones of each other and too often the boys seem to be halfheartedly going through the motions and appear as if they can't wait to get it over with. However, it's a different story at The Birdcage. The different acts were truly sparkling, witty, and the most appropriate word to use is "clever." The boys performing the acts were not only talented, but were obviously having a lot of fun, and that makes it much more fun for the audience. I'm not going to describe any of the acts. You've just got to get there and see for yourself. I have never returned to a bar to see a show a second time, but I can tell you I will be back to see "The Birdcage" show again and again, and Mark will be changing the show periodically. I overheard other "farang" commenting about how much they also enjoyed the show. Mark has really put together quite a bar. I'm certainly going to be back, and often. He told me he is still working on improvements, especially to the lighting. In all honesty, I didn't think much of anything even needs improving. I thought it was just fine the way it is, and Mark is going to make it even better. I was also impressed with the drinks. Generous portions are served and the bartender actually puts alcohol in his liquor. None of the watered down garbage at The Birdcage. You'll find the drinks menu and prices on their web site. I was greatly pleased that there was no presence of mama-sans. Not one. There were no mama-sans trying to sit down next to anyone, uninvited and unwanted, trying to cajole people into having a boy sit down with them or trying to get anyone to take a boy "off." That, in itself, is a great relief. If you want a boy to sit with you, signal him to come over yourself, or tell one of the waiters. The go-go boys all wear number badges. The coyote boys do not, although they can be called over to sit with you and can be taken "off." The "off" fees are 300 baht for a go-go boy, 400 baht for a waiter or staff member, and 500 baht for a coyote boy. That's standard pricing in Pattaya these days. In my opinion, The Birdcage is not only well worth a visit, but I would go as far as recommending placing this bar on your "Must Do" list when visiting Pattaya. Finding The Birdcage is quite easy. It's adjacent to the Day-Night Hotel on Soi Day-Night. You can't miss it. I truly believe this bar is really going to bring new life to Soi Day-Night. It is already doing so, although if and when more bars open on Soi Day-Night, The Birdcage is going to be an awfully tough act to follow. It was already getting crowded when I arrived at 10:00. By show time the bar was packed and every customer seemed greatly pleased. I think most of you will be too. So, my congratulations to Kevin, Mark, and the boys. They have really put together something quite unique and of high quality. Go and see for yourself . . .

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080306/lf_af...landtourismfood Bangkok Restaurant to Give Big Spenders a Taste of Poverty Agence France Presse A Bangkok restaurant is treating its biggest spenders to a 300,000-dollar meal prepared by Michelin-starred chefs -- but only after they have jetted to an elephant camp to see how the other half live. Lebua hotels, which last year put on a sumptuous dinner with a 29,000-dollar per head price tag, will on April 5 fly up to 50 of their top clients to Surin province in northeastern Thailand, one of the kingdom's poorest regions. After seeing the dwindling number of pachyderms and the impoverished lives of their handlers, the high-rollers will fly by private jet back to Bangkok where they will feast on lobster, black truffles and Roquefort ice cream. Deepak Ohri, managing director of Lebua hotels and resorts, hopes that the trip will spark an altruistic streak in the assembled bankers, casino magnets and real estate moguls. "We're taking these people to Surin, to see how the poor people actually are living and are managing their elephants. They cannot even manage themselves and they cannot manage their elephants," he told AFP. "So all these people can actually create the infrastructure in that particular location, and at similar locations all over the world." Unlike after last year's one-million-baht meal, no money will be given to charity, and this time Lebua will pick up the tab for the dinner prepared by French chefs Jean-Michel Lorain, Michel Trama and Alain Soliveres, who have eight Michelin stars between them. "We are spending 10 million baht here so we are not giving any money to charity ... We don't need any donation, we need them to think, come up with some products from their companies," Ohri told AFP. Some may question the ethics of such a display of wealth and poverty, but Ohri insists such projects help bridge the gap between the rich and poor, and predicts a warm welcome for the well-heeled foodies. "If I am a poor person and I see a rich person is coming, it would make me very delighted because they see at last there is someone coming to look at us," he said.

When the funeral arrangements for Wowpow become available, I would appreciate it if someone else will be kind enough to post it. Unless the information becomes available on Monday, neither Geezer nor I will be able to post it. For months we have been planning a rather extensive road trip through central and northern Thailand. Our original plan was to leave Tuesday morning. We discussed delaying our trip until after the funeral, but we have decided we really need to go ahead with our original plans. If the information does become available on Monday, one of us will go ahead and post it, but obviously, if the information is not available until Tuesday or later, then neither of us will be able to post it.

I promised to add to this thread after exploring Chinatown. I can only tell you that I agree with every word Naughtybutnice wrote, and then some! I'm kicking my own butt for not having visited Chinatown before. This is an area to walk through and take your time exploring. I think you could visit Chinatown every day for a year and still have only scratched the surface. There are so many narrow sois, filled with curio shops, mom-and-pop restaurants, Chinese herbal medicines, Chinese art, and "whatnot" shops that you just can't begin to take it all in. There are also loads of wholesale shops. I walked through one wholesale area that was street after street of wholesale shoes. There are Chinese restaurants of every kind. I love dim sum and there are plenty of restaurants that have all kinds of dim sum choices on the menu. There are even some that sell only dim sum specialties. I ate lunch in a dim sum restaurant that was just packed with locals. This particular one specialized in dozens of different shrimp and prawn dim sum items. I doubt I could find it again in a million years, but next time I'm in Bangkok I'm going to look for it. I loved it and every choice comes with three or four pieces. Each choice was all of 15 baht. There is so much to see and explore there that I couldn't even begin to describe it. And Naughtybut nice is right. I shouldn't even try to describe it. It's an area you just have to see and experience for yourself. And, I certainly recommend doing just that next time you're in Bangkok. I know I will.

The funeral could be as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Geezer is on top of this and as soon as the date and time can be confirmed, it will be posted here for those who wish to attend the funeral.

This is indeed terrible news and a shock to us all. Anyone familiar with the message boards was familiar with Wowpow. Anyone who knew him also knew that he was the very essence of culture and class, and was a pure gentleman. Wowpow was an icon in both Pattaya and Bangkok and an integral part of the gay scene. His death is a terrible loss. We are presently awaiting information as to funeral arrangements. At this point, nobody seems to know if there will be a funeral in Thailand or whether his remains will be sent home for burial. Once we are able to find out, we will certainly let you know.

As I'm sure most of you know, the new Birdcage bar, which used to be Lek's Bar, followed by being Guys Bar, is located on Soi Day-Night, adjacent to the Day-Night Hotel. I have not visited the bar yet during opening hours. Today I was there two hours before opening time and had a talk with Kevin and Marsha. I must say I'm greatly impressed with what they are trying to do. Both said there were opening night problems, which is to be expected, and they are getting them worked out quickly. Marsha said he put the whole thing together only within the last ten days, so whatever those of you who have already been there experienced, and I understand most people were greatly pleased, it's going to get even better. I've read a few reviews that have appeared on other web sites. I will be in Bangkok until Friday. I'm going to try to make it to Birdcage at some point over this coming weekend, after which I'll post my own review. In the meantime, It really looks like it just may be the bar that finally brings real life to Soi Day-Night and I think Birdcage will succeed. I hope other bar investors follow suit and try to get Soi Day-Night really going as the third major gay venue area in Pattaya. However, from what I've seen and heard from both Kevin and Marsha so far, Birdcage will be a tough act to follow . . .

When in a city you don't know very well, or don't know at all, that's where having a GPS, with the ESRI software, can come in mighty handy. When I go to Chiang Mai, I'm going to drive to get there. I already have most of the places I want to visit marked on the GPS. All I'll have to do is decide which location I want to visit, crank up the GPS, and it will lead me right to wherever I want to go. I spent some time today putting in all the places you talked about and am looking forward to visiting the ones that seemed most appealing to me.

Thank you, Bob. I certainly will. It's been a couple of years since I was last in Chiang Mai. GT's posts and your suggestions are sure coming at perfect timing for me.

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ BOT and Ministry Will Ride the Baht The Bank of Thailand and the Finance Ministry will jointly manage the exchange rate through the market mechanism, following tomorrow's end to 14 months of hard-knuckled capital controls. Published on March 2, 2008 Tarisa Watanagase, the central-bank governor, told Nation Channel yesterday that the new BOT Act would go into effect tomorrow and the Finance Ministry had a new public-debt management law to rein in the baht. Both laws let the central bank and Finance Ministry issue an unlimited amount of bonds to manage the demand for and supply of foreign exchange as a means to stabilise the baht, which will likely shoot up after the 30-per-cent reserve requirement is lifted. "Since we held an election and got a new government, the policy direction has become clearer. The Finance Ministry has also taken action to support the BOT in overseeing the baht via its public-debt management office," Tarisa said. The government now has more powerful tools at its disposal to influence currency movements, while before conditions were not conducive to removing capital measures due to the lack of legal power to deal with volatility in the forex market. The export sector has been the only engine of growth for the economy, so authorities needed to be cautious to avoid causing undesirable impacts, she said. However, the economic outlook is now better and figures for imports and exports, government expenditures, investment and consumption for the last quarter of 2007 show that the time is now ripe to unbridle capital flows, she said. Tarisa insisted that the central bank had not acted under pressure from politicians. The Thailand Development Research Institute has forecast that the baht will appreciate by Bt1 per US dollar due to the unfreezing of reserves. Small exporters could be hit by the falling competitiveness of Thai goods in the world market. Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the opposition Democrat Party, welcomed the central bank's move, while Korn Chatikavanij of the same party said the baht would continue its upward trend because of the US dollar's weakness. Korn also warned the government not to attempt to fix the value of the baht because that was not possible under today's market conditions. The government should instead manage the economy competently with sound policies so that it would help avoid imbalances, he said. Overall, economic growth should be sustainable, he said, supported by sound policies for domestic public and private investment, consumption and export. Afterwards, the exchange rate will reflect these economic conditions, he said. The Nation

Thank you for these posts, GT. For me, your timing is perfect. I expect to be in Chiang Mai myself about a week from now and I'm certainly going to try some of your recommendations.